Cat Ears And Coffee
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Ruby watched Blake intently, hoping she was not being a distraction. But the older girl had already gotten lost in the world of her writing. Ruby leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, putting her chin in her palms. It was so much fun to watch the girl doing what she loved most. [Happy RWBY Tuesday! AU info inside].


**Based off Dani's (booksandweapons) AU, An Author and Her Fangirl! It's a normal life AU (no Grimm or Faunus), where Blake is an author and Ruby is a fan of her works. Only Ruby doesn't know she writes naughty things, too. Ruby is 16 and in high school while Blake is 19 in college.**

**Dedicated to the mastermind herself, Dani!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Cat Ears And Coffee

Ruby swung her feet back and forth as she sat at the booth, a grin on her face as she hummed absentmindedly.

The cafe was bustling at this hour of the morning, and she was waiting for the coffee and tea she had ordered.

But those weren't the only things she was waiting for.

She perked up as the waitress brought over the drinks, noticing the vacant spot across from the girl. "Waiting for someone?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

"Alright. Then I'll come back for your orders in a few minutes."

"Okay! Thank you!" Ruby called after her. She reached to the side of the table for the sugar packets and grabbed five, tearing them open and mixing them into her mug.

She fidgeted a bit as she watched the steaming teacup across from her, hoping Blake wouldn't mind that she had ordered it before her arrival. They had gone out to brunch enough times together for Ruby to have memorized her favorite tea – Jasmine – and just how she liked it, with cream and no sugar.

Ruby poured a packet of cream into the cup, watching the dark liquid swirl and blend like melted chocolate. The thought made Ruby's stomach growl a little and she glanced at the clock. One minute till noon.

She frowned; Blake was never late.

A bit concerned, she reached for her cell phone, only to be reminded – again – that she had yet to ask Blake her number. Ruby groaned aloud. How many weeks had they been meeting up like this and she _still_ couldn't remember to do that?

But just as the little birds carved into the clock on the wall popped out and began to sing softly, there was a frantic ringing of bells as the door of the cafe was more or less flung open. Ruby straightened up, face breaking out into an immediate smile when she saw Blake, bedraggled as she may have been.

"Blake, Blake! Over here!" she called out, waving with vigor.

Blake's ears were accustomed to hone in on Ruby's voice above all others by now, and she located her quickly amongst the crowded tables. Keeping her bag pressed close to her side, Blake made her way over to Ruby.

"Sorry I'm late. I overslept. I was up writing last night and before I knew it, it was 3 in the morning." Her wavy onyx hair was frazzled as she placed her bag down on her side of the booth, pausing when she saw the tea that was waiting for her. "What's this?"

"I ordered for you!" Ruby announced proudly. "I... hope that's okay?" She looked up at Blake with suddenly-nervous silver eyes.

Blake nearly stumbled as she was taking her seat.

"N-No, of course it's okay!" She gasped before her voice grew softer. "I'm just... flattered you would go out of your way to do that for me."

"I didn't go out of my way! I'm just glad you didn't think it was weird of me."

"It's not weird. Not at all..."

The conversation naturally dropped, and they let it, offering awkward smiles in one another's directions.

Blake sat down and took a sip of her tea, nearly sputtering when she saw the excited sparkle in Ruby's eyes. She was too cute for her own good.

"Did I make it right?" she wondered, bouncing in her seat.

Blake managed to swallow past her chuckle and nodded.

"Yes. It's perfect. Thank you, Ruby."

The beaming smile she received sent her heart aflutter.

Just then, the waitress came back for their orders. Ruby requested a slice of strawberry shortcake and a slice of chocolate cake while Blake settled for apple pie. The waitress gave a small bow before heading off.

Blake pulled out her laptop and set it to the side as it turned on. She always felt bad about putting it between the two of them, under the impression she was being rude to Ruby.

But the brunette never seemed to mind; in fact, she was fascinated in seeing the older girl - who just so happened to be her favorite author - at work.

Blake was always intent on making sure Ruby wasn't offended by her writing around her, as the onyx-haired girl knew she could come across as inconsiderate sometimes when she got lost in her own little world and drowned out reality.

She could still remember how guilty she felt after evidently not responding to anything Ruby had said for a full five minutes once, which resulted in her profuse apologies and Ruby's dismissive and reassuring laughter.

Only when Blake was absolutely certain Ruby was more than comfortable with her typing in front of her did she allow herself to do so.

"So, what were you writing until 3AM?" the younger girl wondered with interest. "Which, by the way, isn't good for you. Especially a hardworking college girl like you!"

"Hardworking college girl..." Blake wheezed sarcastically. "Riiiiight. But to answer your question ah, I was... writing an assignment."

"Oh, really? On a Friday night?" Ruby cried, sounding horrified.

"...Yeah."

There was no way she was telling Ruby she had actually been writing graphic bedroom scenes.

"Wow, you're so dedicated!" Ruby cheered. "At least you're done with it now, right?"

"...Yes..." It made Blake remember that she actually really _did_ still have an assignment to write for school.

But she shook her head, not wanting to think about such depressing things right now. Today she had three hours to spend with Ruby before she needed to go home, and Blake intended to enjoy every second of them to the fullest.

In talking about what she had been writing the previous night, Blake found her hands inching unconsciously toward her laptop. Ruby noticed as well and smirked in amusement.

Blake sighed. "May I?" she asked a bit guiltily.

"Of course! I love watching you work!"

"Thank you." Blake felt a warmth on her cheeks. "But if I end up being rude to you again, just kick me in the shin."

"I wouldn't do that!" Ruby pouted.

Blake reached into the side zipper of her bag and pulled out her glasses, unfolding the legs and slipping them into place on the bridge of her nose. She slid her laptop in front of her and opened up her document before beginning to type.

It felt so wonderfully natural to let her fingers dart across the keyboard, like letting loose ten miniature race horses.

Well, more like four. To hell with all they had taught her in elementary school about the 'proper placement of the fingers over the specific keys'. So long as there were quick results with as few errors as possible, Blake could care less how improperly she typed by societal standards.

It felt good to write, like some kind of release after hours of stress without it. Some people channeled their stress through smoking and other methods she had seen around her college campus that made her want to either vomit or notify the authorities.

But for Blake, the truest elation was a product of writing.

It relaxed her, let her enjoy herself by getting lost in the world she had created. She had seen many friends get lost in their hobbies that were supposed to relieve stress where it only served to stress them out further. It was a terrible shame some people were so uptight about everything.

But writing never troubled Blake – at least not when it was for fun like this.

And _especially_ not when she had such an adorable fan cheering her on.

Of course her works brought forth many fans, but there was really only one she was focused on at the moment.

Ruby watched Blake intently, hoping she wasn't being a distraction. But the older girl had already gotten lost in the world of her writing.

It was incredible how quickly her hands flew over the keys, only very rarely ever hitting the backspace one. Her golden eyes were fierce and focused on the screen as she forgot the world around her, exchanging the din of the cafe for whatever events were transpiring within the contents of her mind's tale.

Ruby leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, putting her chin in her palms. It was so much fun to watch the girl doing what she loved most.

She assumed Blake didn't realize this, but she would often make slight micro-expressions as she typed. Sometimes she would smile, as though testing out the way the character she was writing would do so. Sometimes she would frown and bite her lip, trying to figure out what it would taste like to regret a certain decision so she could convey the thought properly. Sometimes she would work with entirely deadpanned features, and Ruby had to wonder aloud if she was alright, to which Blake always sheepishly admitted she had no clue as to what face she had been making.

But Ruby did know she had to keep an eye on Blake; once, the college girl had been so intent on her writing she had apparently forgotten to breathe, causing Ruby to desperately shake her back into the world of the waking.

Presently, however, Blake was making a very rare expression that Ruby had only ever seen on her once or twice before. Posture erect and shoulders back, her eyes were narrowed through the frames of her glasses, and her tongue was sticking out ever so slightly to the side of her mouth in the pinnacle display of the deepest form of concentration.

Ruby had to bite the inside of her cheek, lest she giggle aloud and break the older girl's intense focus.

After a few minutes, the waitress returned with their food, and Ruby thanked her. She happily started cutting into her cakes, taking a bit of the strawberry shortcake and a bit of the chocolate pieces and combining them on her fork to eat simultaneously.

"Mmmm, so goooood!" she squealed, putting a hand to her cheek.

Blake was still working eagerly, not having noticed the arrival of her food, and her tea was beginning to get cold as well. Ruby smiled a little before slowly extending her foot to nudge the other girl's.

"Blaaake~" she called softly, as though attempting to wake a sleeping child.

Blake jumped with a gasp and peeled her eyes away from the screen.

"Wha-? Oh."

"Geez, are you okay? You don't have to get so startled!"

"I'm sorry." Blake dipped her head in embarrassment, the black bow atop her head drooping a bit, not unlike a cat's ears would. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Kinda!" Ruby grinned. "But it's okay! I'm not offended or anything, silly! So don't look so upset." She scolded playfully. "But your food's here. You should eat." She had also occasionally known Blake to skip meals and lose sleep due to her work, which was much more worrying than not hearing Ruby when she spoke sometimes.

Ruby shuddered as she remembered a time when the two of them had been in the local library together. Blake had been writing with her shoulders slumped, which was a very rare sight, and Ruby had thought she seemed a little pale, but she had kept quiet, not wanting to be intrusive.

But when Blake suddenly collapsed out of her chair, Ruby had been a nervous wreck when she couldn't rouse her. Once she had been taken to the hospital, the diagnosis was that Blake hadn't eaten in over two days and was severely fatigued. Ruby had stayed by her bed until she awoke, crying and sniffling all the while as she scolded Blake to take better care of herself.

Blake must have been remembering that time as well, as a melancholy spark made its way into her eyes. That had been the first time anyone had ever been so genuinely concerned for her health.

As a struggling college student, she had shirked many meals and hours of sleep before, and passing out was nothing she wasn't used to.

But the blubbering wails and desperate hugs had been new, and from that point onward, she had vowed to be more mindful of her health – for Ruby's sake, if nothing else.

So she saved her file and slid her laptop aside, replacing it with her piece of pie.

"Thanks for waking me up," she said appreciatively as she took a bite.

"Soooo..." Ruby hummed. "What are you working on now? You don't get that way when you're writing school work!"

Blake coughed a bit as the pie got temporarily stuck in her throat.

"Ah- um! Well-" She knocked her fist against her chest quickly to clear things up as Ruby looked on in concern. "Ah, I'm fine. But anyway, I was just writing for... for pleasure..."

"Oh! So it was for fun?"

"Right. That's a nicer way to put it. Though less accurate..." she added under her breath.

"Well whatever it is, if it's for your stories, I know I'll _love_ it!" Ruby sighed dreamily.

Blake felt a drop of sweat fall past her temple. Rather than writing her assignments and essays, Blake just spent her time and energy writing fantasies and imagined storyboards, specifically the ones Ruby loved the most.

But in her bashfulness not to let Ruby find out about her "not-so-innocent" stories, she had told the girl she wrote about random thoughts and not just her stories all the time.

Perhaps some day – preferably when Ruby was older and Blake was less of a coward about her feelings – she would tell the girl the truth.

But for now, Ruby knew her as a college girl who collapsed sometimes because she forgot to eat due to getting too into writing stories about fictional characters.

Blake really was an idiot.

Ruby's voice brought her back to the present again.

"I think it's amazing though!" she was saying. "I'm sure even your random thoughts are written just as beautifully and amazingly as the rest of your stuff! If it came from you - no matter what it is - I'd love to read it!" She trailed off thoughtfully with a curious glance at Blake's laptop.

The older girl sputtered, quickly flipping her device closed as she choked again.

"N... N-No, no! It's _incredibly_ boring a-and I never edit anything and I really don't think you'd like it very much-"

"Okay, okay, take it easy!" Ruby soothed her flustered companion. "Don't forget to breathe again!"

"That was _one_ time..." Blake defended.

"It was still scary!" Ruby wailed.

Blake sighed, but couldn't ignore the flattered bubbling in her stomach in knowing Ruby had been worried about her.

"I'm sorry..." she said, a bit guiltily.

"It's okay!" Ruby reached across the table to pat Blake's hand, unknowingly causing the older girl to tense up. "I get that you don't like people reading certain things. Writers have their own insecurities."

"Yeah..." Blake replied lamely. _If only it was that simple... _She realized Ruby's hand was still resting on hers even after a few seconds and looked up at her with a puzzled expression. "Um, Ruby?"

"Blake..." she mumbled. "Your hands are shaking."

"What?"

Ruby abandoned her cakes and quickly stood, skirting the table and sitting on Blake's side of the booth. Blake nearly choked for the third time within half an hour. God, she liked this girl more than she should.

Ruby reached into Blake's lap to find her other hand, holding them both in hers.

"Yeah..." She nodded, eyebrows furrowed. "Your hands are shaky. Are you okay? You're not getting sick, are you? Blake I told you, you have to take care-"

"I-I'm not sick!" she stammered.

"Are you... nervous about something?"

"...Not particularly..."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Ruby, I'm okay," Blake soothed. "It happens sometimes after I write a lot really quickly. My hands just get a bit sore and they shake a little. It's nothing serious. I promise."

Ruby still looked uncertain, as though she were about to ask the waitress to call an ambulance. Blake's hands were definitely trembling beyond her control, slight as it may have been. Ruby knew there were diseases and ailments writers were prone to that affected the hands and wrists.

She bit her lip, giving Blake's hands a gentle squeeze. "You're... You're _really_ sure you're okay?" she checked.

Blake was touched that this girl would go out of her way to worry about her yet again. She wasn't used to being fussed and fretted over, and if it was Ruby, she thought she might have liked it.

Blake turned her palms upward and gently grasped Ruby's hands in her own.

"I'm sure. Don't worry, okay?" Blake smiled sweetly.

"...Okay." Ruby gave a nod.

"Good. See? They've already stopped shaking."

Ruby realized she was right and sighed in relief. She let Blake have her hands back and returned to her side of the table.

They finished eating and drinking, chatting casually all the while. When they deemed it time to leave, Blake battled Ruby for the tab before they ultimately decided to split it.

Blake packed away her glasses and her laptop, satisfied with what she had gotten to write, and followed Ruby out of the cafe. They still had about an hour to spend together, so they settled for window-shopping.

Well... window-shopping had been the intent, but Blake wanted to buy something for her biggest fan; she wanted Ruby to know her support was much-appreciated.

"Come with me," she said, leading the girl into a gaming store. She had spent enough time around Ruby to learn she wasn't a clothes or shoes kind of girl. She would much rather build things or play games. Which was why Blake insisted upon purchasing a game of her choice for her.

"Wh-What?!" Ruby squeaked. "Y-You don't have to do that!"

"But I want to," Blake said. "You don't want my offer to go to waste now, do you?" She purposefully let her expression appear stricken.

It worked like a charm.

"O-Of course not! Um, um! O-Okay then... I'll pick something."

Blake chuckled to herself as she followed Ruby through the store.

The brunette looked at a certain game with eager eyes before noticing the price and quickly putting it back down. But Blake knew how to go about this kind of situation. As Ruby moved aside, Blake casually picked up the game she had just put back.

"Oh, I've played this one before," she said.

Ruby perked up immediately, clearly trying to contain her excitement at finding another fan.

"Really?!"

"Yes. And I think you'd like it. May I buy it for you?"

She wasn't sure if Ruby knew what she was doing or not, but it hardly mattered when the girl let out a gleeful cry and tightly wrapped her arms around Blake.

Against their better judgement, they also stopped by a local pet store.

Blake was tearfully captivated by the cats, very nearly tempted to ask the employees if she could be let into every cage to pet them. Ruby had gone to the puppy pen, and her joyous laughter could be heard throughout the store. When she was finished, she apologized to each one that she had to leave, and kissed them all on the head, peeking into the cat's room to locate her companion.

"Blaaaake? Come on, we should go now."

"B-But-"

"This is why we shouldn't have come in here..."

Blake was sitting on the ground playing with and petting several cats at once, tears in her eyes.

"But what if they don't get adopted?"

"They will!"

"But Dani's already been here a week. Maybe I should take her-"

"Blake, you're not allowed to have cats at your apartment," Ruby reminded her gently.

"Oh... right."

"Or else you'd already have about fifty."

"Yeah..." Blake sighed as she reluctantly got up. "That would be nice..."

"Come on."

Blake said her goodbyes to each cat before following Ruby out.

Their final destination was a dollar store. Blake had been browsing various hair clips, dressing Ruby with them in her mind until she found the perfect one, a brown clip frilled with lace and adorning a red rose.

"Ruby..." She ushered the girl over and tucked the trinket into place in her soft hair before stepping back to examine the results. Ruby was always adorable, but there was something about Blake getting to doll her up herself that made her even more precious.

"How does it look?" Ruby asked.

"Cute." Blake smiled, trying to control her rapid heartbeat.

"Ooohh! I have something for you, too!" Ruby zipped off into one of the aisles, grabbed something from a shelf, and returned to Blake with one hand behind her back. With her free hand, she reached up and carefully untied the girl's black bow as Blake watched her curiously. Ruby replaced the bow with a headband that adorned two purple, fluffy triangles.

"Ruby... these are...?"

"Cat ears!" she exclaimed.

Blake's jaw hung open for a minute as she slowly reached up to brush her fingers over the soft fuzz.

She looked... _really_ happy.

Ruby couldn't keep the smile from her own face as Blake continued to look up, as if trying to picture herself in the ears.

"Do you like them?" Did she even need to ask?

Blake nodded slowly.

"Okay! Let's get 'em!" Ruby slipped the ears off Blake's head and handed her back the bow before she removed the clip from her own hair. Blake looked a little upset when she had to take the ears off again.

Ruby purchased both items this time before putting the ears back atop Blake's head, brushing her hair back a little. In return, Blake put the clip back in her hair as they went outside.

Just then, Ruby's phone went off, and she sighed a little regrettably as she checked her messages.

"Yang's coming to get me now."

"Alright. Let's sit while we wait for her."

Blake led her over to a bench and they sat down together.

"Are your hands okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. Just fine."

"That's good."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ruby seemed to remember something.

"Oh, that's right!" She pulled out her cell phone again. "You should give me your number!"

"My... number?"

"Yeah! Well, i-if you want to, I mean." The younger girl shuffled her feet a bit.

Blake's eyes widened.

"Of course!" Did she sound a bit _too_ excited?

She quickly fumbled through her bag to get her phone, which she hardly had any contacts in.

They exchanged numbers, each feeling fairly more excited than they cared to let on.

Before long, a garish yellow Porsche with a black stripe down the side drove up and stopped before them on the street.

"Heya, lil sis!" Yang called out with a wave. She smiled when she saw the new accessories the two girls were wearing. "Looks like you guys had fun!"

"We did!" Ruby grinned, still excited about having finally remembered to get Blake's number. "We went to the cafe and-"

"Alright, ya gotta explain on the way! If I'm not there to pick up Weiss in 3 minutes flat, it'll be my head."

"Oh, right!" Ruby hopped up from the bench before turning back to Blake.

The older girl stood as well, offering a warm smile.

"I had a good time today. Thank you for meeting with me, Ruby."

"Yeah! I had a lot of fun! Thanks, Blake! Now you can text me whenever you're free and we can do it all again soon!"

"Right." She was happy enough just with that. But Blake received a bonus as Ruby wrapped her arms around her and squeezed her tightly.

"See you soon, Blake!"

The older girl took a second to be surprised before she slowly returned the hug.

"Yes. See you soon, Ruby."

"Take care of yourself!" Ruby ordered.

"I will. And you do the same." She gave Ruby a brief squeeze, patting her back before letting her go.

"Bye!" Ruby called with a beaming smile and a wave before heading to Yang's car.

Blake watched her go and waved her hand shyly.

"Until next time."

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**A/N: Ahaha yes I named the cat after the creator~ Hope you enjoyed! This AU is adorable and Dani does even more adorable art for it, so check our her tumblr!**

**Please review!**


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